BiologySeptember 16, 2016
Bacterial Predators Surprise Scientists with Hidden Diversity
A vast group of mollusk-like microbes toting shells and trapping bacteria has many more members than suspected
Stories by Jennifer Frazer
Jennifer Frazer, an AAAS Science Journalism Award–winning science writer, authored The Artful Amoeba blog for Scientific American. She has degrees in biology, plant pathology and science writing.
BiologySeptember 9, 2016
Trapped in a Black Pit, Ants Refuse to Give Up
Where civilization-destroying weapons once lay, humble wood ants meet a science-fiction-like end
BiologySeptember 2, 2016
In the Year Following Fire, a Mushroom Bonanza
Morels, odd yet delicious, are often hard to find—but not in western forests that just burned
BiologyAugust 25, 2016
2 Lichen Mysteries Solved Reveal a Greater Hidden Truth
A pair of look-alike lichens may have outed a creature that escaped detection by biologists for centuries
BiologyAugust 18, 2016
Sharks' Rep Hurt by Scary Theme Music
"Objective" documentaries may be unintentionally biasing viewers
BiologyAugust 11, 2016
Newly Crowned Oldest Vertebrate May Live to 400
...and it doesn't reach sexual maturity until around 150
BiologyAugust 4, 2016
50-Million-Year-Old Insect Jumped Out of Skin to Escape Amber Tsunami
A mushroom, an insect skin and a mammal hair all walk into the same piece of amber...
BiologyAugust 1, 2016
My First Radiolab Interview: From Tree to Shining Tree
What goes on under the forest floor may astound you
EvolutionJuly 29, 2016
80 Percent of Open-Ocean Fish Make Light
Lighting up is the rule, not the exception, for marine fish
BiologyJuly 13, 2016
Desert Moss Makes Water Trap So Powerful It Can Hoist Water against Gravity
Could you survive on only the moisture in fog? This moss can
BiologyJuly 8, 2016
Predator? No Problem--Water Fleas Grow Weapons
The water flea Daphnia grows its own helmets, spikes and crests in response to chemical cues that predators are near
EvolutionJuly 1, 2016
Butterflies in the Time of Dinosaurs, with Nary a Flower in Sight
Jurassic butterflies disappeared a full 45 million years before the first caterpillar decided to grow up and become a beautiful butterfly—again
BiologyJune 7, 2016
Fungi in Space!
If you can make it on Earth, can you make it on "Mars"?
BiologyMay 20, 2016
80 Percent of Young Environmental Scientists Could Use More Natural History Training
Natural history is vanishing from the academic ecosystem, and it may be harming our ability to make big theoretical advances
BiologyMay 11, 2016
Cat Sharks Send Secret, Fluorescent Messages
A few sharks fluoresce like ravers at a club. But why?
EvolutionMay 3, 2016
Under Soil and above Caves, a Warren of Hidden Life
Off limits to humans, the cracks and crevices of the epikarst hide a vast and diverse world of animals
BiologyApril 28, 2016
A Jellyfish So Surreal That It Looks Unreal Is Discovered on the Enigma Seamount
The beautiful, bizarre animal was discovered this week during NOAA's exploration of the area around the Mariana Trench
EvolutionApril 27, 2016
Crumpled Sock? Churro? No, That's Just Xenoturbella
Four new species of a rarely seen, bizarre sea creature have been discovered in eastern Pacific Ocean, and their genetic evidence confirms a pivotal evolutionary placement
BiologyApril 19, 2016
Wanted: Natural History Transcriptionists
Love natural history and good at deciphering handwriting? Then the citizen science project "Notes From Nature" has got a job for you.
EvolutionApril 15, 2016
New Oldest Fungus Fossil Grew Like Dry Rot
... but so long ago wood had not evolved yet.
BiologyApril 7, 2016
Water Bears Frozen During the Reagan Administration Wake Up and Lay Eggs
One of the cutest organisms on Earth is also one of the toughest, as three water bears' intrepid 30-year voyage through deep-freeze has proved once more
The SciencesMarch 11, 2016
Uneven Distribution of Viruses Suggests Surprising Evolutionary Power
Did viruses help spur the evolution of complex life?
The SciencesMarch 8, 2016
Beams Built of Diatom Boast Record-Setting Strength
How scientists fabricated the beams is almost as extraordinary as their toughness.
The SciencesMarch 4, 2016
Casper, the Friendly Deep Sea Octopus Who's Entirely New to Science
On its very first dive of the season, NOAA's Okeanos Explorer encountered something unexpected while collecting rocks.